Chicken in a White Wine Sauce with Crispy Sage
I wanted to cook dinner for my parents tonight, and I planned on coming up with a completely new menu. Something I could create without recipes, simply relying on what I know, flavors I like, and a dash of creativity.
The Menu
- Chicken in a White Wine Sauce with Hints of Lemon and Sage Garnished with Crispy Sage
- Grilled Roasted-Garlic Polenta Topped with Caramelized Onions (see post above)
- Grilled Summer Squash and Tomatoes
Chicken Ingredients
- 3 boneless chicken breasts, trimmed and pounded just a bit
- 1/2 c flour
- Salt and pepper
- 1 shallot finely chopped
- 1/3 c dry white wine
- 1 c low-sodium chicken broth
- 8 sage leaves (2 finely chopped leaves for the sauce, 6 whole leaves for crisping)
- Juice from 1/2 of a lemon
- 4 tbsp butter
- 3 tbsp olive oil
Directions
- Heat 3 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp oil in a large pan over medium-high heat.
- Season chicken with salt and pepper, dredge in flour, shake off excess, and add to the pan.
- Cook on each side until golden brown, about 3-4 minutes per side. Remove from pan and keep warm.
- Lower the heat and add the rest of the butter and oil to the pan.
- Add shallots and saute 1 minute.
- Deglaze pan with the white wine, scraping up all of the brown bits. Let wine cook off for about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the lemon juice, chicken broth and chopped sage and bring to a simmer.
- Return chicken to the pan and let simmer about 8 minutes.
In the meantime... heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a small pan. Holding the sage leaves by the stems, add to the oil. Cook for about 1 minute on each side until dark and crispy. Transfer to paper towels to drain.
To serve... Plate the chicken and top with some sauce. Put 2 crispy sage leaves on each piece of chicken.
Although the picture above didn't turn out that great, the chicken did! What a perfect chicken dish for a summer day. It was flavorful, but light and fresh at the same time. I loved the taste of the sage with the lemon, and the crispy sage was the perfect garnish.
Veggies...
While I was cooking the chicken, my mom grilled the veggies on an indoor electric grill (why go outside when we could cook in the kitchen together?). The tomatoes came from the local produce store (I'll have tomatoes from my own garden in a week or two!!), and the squash came from the garden of our family friend (it was a beauty!!).
I sliced 3 tomatoes in half, poured some olive oil over them, and sprinkled with salt, pepper and parsley. I sliced the summer squash into long, thin pieces, and gave them the same seasonings as the tomatoes. My mom grilled the squash for about 10 minutes (5 on each side), and the tomatoes just a touch longer.
There is nothing like fresh, grilled veggies, especially when they come from a friend's garden! The squash was the most delicious squash I have ever tasted, and it didn't need anything more than the oil, salt, and pepper.
The polenta was so good that I thought it deserved its own post..see above.
During dinner we watched the All-Star Game Parade, and after dinner we watched the introductions. Baseball is something we have always loved as a family, and watching it with dad is always fun :)
